A Star's Shadow
by captainstar
Summary: There is a secret behind every Muggle-born. R&HG with Hermione having a haunting problem.
1. Dodgy Showers

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. 

Chapter 1-Dodgy Showers 

Scanning through the room, he saw a deserted Gryffindor common-room, nothing unusual seeing it was 11pm and he had jsut staggered in covered in mud after Quidditch practice. He didnt have fantastic eyesight, but it was enough to tell him that no-one was there- 

There was a rustle of an old rotting page being turned. 

Harry Potter spinned around, to see a bushy brunette with a book propped up so that you couldn't see her face.   
Harry sighed.   
"Hermione, that's gonna seriously ruin your eyesight, you'll end up with glasses like me," joked Harry as he walked over.   
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" said a voice in monotone behind the big book.   
Hermione Granger, obviously not happy with the interruption, but secretly relieved for the break, turned around and sighed dejectedly, "I wish…I really have to finish this book before Potions tomorrow, so I can start on the second one."   
"We don't even have Potions tomorrow! Hermione-it's Saturday, you have heaps of time before you have to finish that book, now be a good girl and go get some sleep before your brain bursts," consoled Harry, secretly wanting some sleep in himself.   
He tugged the heavy book out of her small hands and dragged her upstairs.   
As they lumbered up the stairs, Hermione, now all confused, probably due to her lack of sleep, looked at Harry "Are you serious? Oh no…I've been reading the wrong timetable! What else do we have tomorrow…"   
Ah…don't worry, just go to sleep," and he shut the door behind her. 

Warm water gushed out of the dodgy shower tap but was nevertheless massaging. Harry closed his eyes to think. The faint whistling in the background was soothing too he thought and chuckled. But he kind of noticed that Hermione was spending more and more time with her nose in the books, not like she wasn't already! But just maybe a bit more than usual... He had always thought of himself as Hermione's brother, despite the fact Hermione was always the one saving him with her knowledge of spells, but now all he really knew was that she had had a few family problems and just had a small fling with that playboy Malfoy, "No biggie," Hermione had said. He wasn't sure how far they got to but whatever it was, no-one approved of it. But everyone approved of one thing, Hermione dumped him.   
Harry smiled.   
The thought that Gryffindor's own little Hermione could make someone as powerful as Malfoy humiliated.   
Harry stopped smiling.   
Reality hit him, then that would mean that Hermione would forever be in dept of Malfoy, until he attacked back. The thought sent shivers up his strong spine that had years of fracture experience. That would not be good.   
"Harry, is that you?" mumbled a sleepy Ron Weasly hammering clumsily on the door, "Harry, its past 11, if you were gonna take a shower why did you have to take that shower, it whistles through the pipes remember? You've woken the whole dorm up dip" 

In the other side of the Gryffindor tower, Hermione glared softly at the door that shut behind her. She knew it was only Harry trying to do her good. Little did he know that she was slowly slipping away from his grip…   
She slipped on her nighties and slid under her sheets making herself warm. She softly blew out the candle and drifted off to another unpleasant dream. 

"Harry, turn the bloody tap OFF!"   
Harry obediently, but guiltily turned the tap off, "I'm so sorry Ron, I've been thinking-   
"GOODNIGHT!"   
He quickly pulled a robe over him and yanked the door open, "Yeh well with your shouting you would have woken up the whole castle!" and found himself an inch away from Ron's nose, dripping wet, "No, I'm serious-it's about Hermione," dropping to a whisper, quickly thinking of a excuse.   
Ron rubbed his eyes in bewilderment, "Hermione? What? What's wrong?" he urgently asked, giving himself time for the fact to sink in. Realising what he had just said, he quickly added, "I MEAN, she's the least of your worries…"   
Yeh yeh…,"muttered Harry, who wasn't very slow and noticed the small slip.   
"Anyway!" he continued, closing the door, "let me get dressed while you sing the rest of the dorm to sleep…haha sucker…"   
"Grrr"   
Harry got dressed and quietly stepped out into the cool yet welcoming dorm that was draped in scarlet and gold linen, only to be confronted by a red-faced redhead.   
"You better not be lying Harry, or you are sooo dead! You don't how long it took to get them to sleep-"   
Harry hopped into his bed and pulled back the curtain. Ron followed him.   
"Hey Ron," dropping to a very faint whisper.   
"What?? Get on with it! I do want some sleep you know, even if you don't!" now getting very irritated.   
Harry glared at him also getting irritated.   
"Don't you think Hermione's been a bit odd lately?"   
"Is that all you wanted to ask me?" asked Ron, not very happy.   
Harry glared.   
"Well, to be honest with you, no, but-"   
Harry sighed.   
"No, no, no, but like uh, couldn't it be…just like uh, be like uh, you know, that time of the month?"   
"Could be…I don't know, it must be a very long time of the month then!...she's just been a bit odd lately."   
"I haven't noticed because I've always thought she's odd!" whispered Ron, both quietly laughing at his joke. "Do you want to ask Ginny? She might know" going back to serious.   
"I don't know, I'm tired-can't think"   
"Same, you woke me up in the first place!"   
"Sorry! Forgot."   
"Hmf. Should be"   
Harry turned around and bade Ron goodnight, hoping that sleep would drown out his puzzled thoughts. 

The dorm was dark, so dark it was pitch black, and the odd breeze would make you think that the castle was haunted, which to be honest wasn't to far from the truth as ghosts did live there-but if you ever had trouble sleeping all you had to do was look up into the ceiling and count the infinitive stars. It was really quite comfortable and safe; after all it had been charmed so that no-one could apparate or dissapparate out. But… 

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" 

A/N So what do you think? Ok, well this is my first chapter of my first fanfic. Please read and review, even if it only says-'read'. But if you want to hear more, please say something to let me know, and I'll write!! captainstar xx 


	2. Stormy Nights

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter 

Chapter 2-Stormy Nights 

_It was a stormy night when a well-built, wealthy man knocked on the old shack.   
"Hi, can I help you?" said a timid but honeyed voice.   
The man looked down to see a young pretty woman, probably just out of school, dressed in tight clothes.   
"Yeh, I hear, you give good service," said the man taking off his coat. "£700 for your bed," he continued winking.   
Her eyes widened, "Oh sure sir," smoothing her hair, staying smooth, "Just let me get ready," and she closed the door, not believing her luck.   
Around the corner, a man who had seen and heard the whole thing chuckled, pleased to see that his spell and drug was working. Now he just watched to see how long it could last._

The curtains ruffled roguishly against the breeze-that was close to white if seen by the naked eye, in the scarlet and gold room. The small girl in the corner bed laid restlessly in her bed. 

_The young woman smiled, not only was it good money, but he gave it too her before they started, and he was good in bed! If only she had customers like that all the time and if he was single...   
"What the hell am I doing here?" the young man roared, his handsome kind face now wrinkled with anger and evil.   
"What's wrong?" asked the woman running her hand down his bare chest, trying one of her tactics.   
"Are you a muggle? Get your filthy hands off me!" not answering her puzzled look.   
"What did you call me?" She thought he was a bit exotic, but she never expected a new language as he started muttering this jibberish.   
"Well at least you're a bit pure now," he said with a smooth smile.   
"Get out of my house!" she said angrily, she silently swore to herself never to do this job again.   
"You call this a house? Ha, I'd like you to see where I live one day, actually you probably wouldn't, it's too far away from your league," the man turned to face the angry woman.   
"GET OUT!!"   
"My pleasure," and with a swish of his cloak he disappeared._

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" 

Hermione woke up sweating and panting and with tears streaming down her face. This was the first time she had had a nightmare like that, but she knew what that man was going to do, even if it was the only thing she really knew about her mother's past.   
She sat straight up and snapped her eyes open gasping again.   
"Are you alright?"   
"What's wrong hun?"   
"Aww, poor baby"   
There was talk. But all she could manage was to close her eyes and lay back and give a faint smile.   
"HERMIONE!!" shouted a too urgent voice   
She heard the familiar voice and a warm feeling instantly washed over her.   
"Hey Ron"   
"You alright?" he asked patting her back sympathetically   
"I've only heard that a good million times."   
"I'm sorry, just you feeling good?" he asked kindly "You look good," he added with that sloppy smile plastered over his face.   
"Fine, you're not meant to be in here" returning the welcoming smile, chuckling.   
"There are exceptions. Bloody Harry, kept me up with the stupid shower. Oh here he comes."   
"HEY!!"   
"Hey yourself"   
"Bad dream?" he asked giving her a brotherly hug. "Yeh kinda…" her voice faltering. She knew he'd understood, after all, she wasn't the only one getting nightmares fromt he past. She didn't want to admit it, but not only was it a bad dream, it was a bad past. To everyone on the outside, she was a golden girl, acing every test, coming first in the grade every year; but inside she was struggling, no-one knew the truth-she was too ashamed to tell.   
"Get better ok?" and Ron and Harry left.   
"Hey when you gonna ask her out?"   
"Shutup"   
"Aww. Come on! I should have left you guys by yourself then" It was fun watching his bestfriends struggle to hide their feelings. Though they were completely oblivious to each other's feelings, it was completely obvious to everyone else. He had always thought it'd be nice to have a girlfriend, but he just found that there was too much stuff going on too even like one!   
Ron was also thinking. When to ask Hermione out, yeh it might sound very simple to you lover-boy Harry, you have millions of girls after you, so anytime you felt lonely just look in the crowd and pick a random and they'd be MORE than happy to go with you. But, deep inside, he was really worried. About Hermione. And her dreams. Not that he wasn't happy that she wasn't dreaming about him! But how she woke up screaming or crying. All he really hoped was that she was alright.   
"You know what I was thinking?" said Ron breaking the silence.   
"No you daft, I'm not mind-reader," teased Harry, still in his jolly mood   
"About Hermione"   
Silence.   
"Oh yeh and ways to ask her out?" teased Harry again, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.   
"Oh ha ha. No about her nightmares"   
"Yeh…same here, I wonder if it has anything to do with her books and stuff."   
"Mmmm, yeh…we should try to talk to her y'know?"   
"Ader! Like I hadn't though of that, but how?"   
"Good question"   
"Daft"   
Since Ron let it slipped that he liked Hermione, there had been a bit of role-reversal. Like Harry had been teasing Ron, about Hermione of course (what else?) and Ron had been more serious. But still, times came along when Ron was all jealous and Harry was quiet and reserved. Hermione on the other hand, was very moody-if she was going through PMS, she was a couple years behind. Some days she'd be her cheery old self, other days she'd be quiet and recluse to a little corner reading a big book.   
"You can't blame her; those bloody nightmares get in her way of being her good ol' self"   
"Yeh, I wish we could help her."   
They watched from a distance as Hermione curled up and started to read another thick book. They looked at each other and sighed. 

Hermione wasn't really reading, she just wanted her friends to stop looking at her. Seriously, it's not that nice to be under the spotlight all the time, what would happen if you made the wrong move and make yourself look like a complete mess? That wouldn't look very good. She thought if she just propped up her book in front of her face it would look like she's reading and so she could just rest her very confused mind, and so she peacefully and slowly slipped out of consciousness. 

_There was a young man, with neat, brown hair and a round, humble face and a young blonde woman next to him holding his hand tightly but smiling. They were looking out of their balcony and the young woman was rubbing her stomach indicating the subject of their talk. Suddenly there was a loud bang and both whirled around_

A/N Well...here is the very belated second chapter. Sorry it took so long, I lost motivation along the way and then when I got it again, I forgot what I was going to write! Well thx for your lovely review KHarron and Moony Lover for her encouragement (go read her stories it's good). Oh Yeh, and I need a beta-reader, any volunteers? If you need a beta reader, I could read yours and you could read mine? Thx for reading by the way! captainstar xx 


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